A New World, A New Chance
by Ozymandeos
Summary: When I was given a choice between actual Hell, a living Hell, and a new life in another universe, I took the new life. Of course, I also ended up pissing off the deity in charge enough that he neglected to tell me which one. Now I'm in a race against time to help stop the Reapers to save my own sorry hide. Semi SI, sorta AU.
1. Prologue

"I don't see the problem," I yelled back up the shaft I'd just rappelled down. Why the maintenance crew couldn't fix whatever had triggered the generator's failsafes, I'd never know.

"The sensors say that the break is somewhere down there! Should we lower you a bit further?" the reply that came back was muffled.

"Yeah."

The rope carrying me slowly dipped further down. Those idiots up top better have the grid disconnected, or I'd get fried alive when the thing turned back on. Assuming I fixed whatever they'd fucked up, that is. As I got lower, the problem became apparent. Somehow one of the panels had been peeled back and all the wiring inside was melted. It didn't take long to realize that I didn't have near enough supplies to fix this. Something smelled fishy, and I grabbed a few of the dead wires on impulse. Someone had cut them before they were burnt.

"I found the problem! Start…" I didn't get to finish the sentence with 'pulling me up' when I heard the telltale sound of the generators below starting up. My angry, and rather vulgar, shouting died before it even started as I felt the wires still clutched in my hand go live.

The last thing I knew before everything went black was the echo of my dying screams and the reek of burning flesh.

_**"I've been waiting for you."**__ My eyes snapped open as the voice echoed in my head. I didn't see anything. It was almost like there was nothing there. In fact, I couldn't even feel my body._

_"__**What, no vulgar comments yet? After watching you for twenty-eight years I was hoping for a violent outburst."**_

_"Who the fuck is this?" I tried to shout, but I made no sound. Whatever the voice was it seemed to hear me anyway._

_**"That's more like it." **__I was really getting annoyed now. __**"I could tell you who I am…but there's no fun in that. I'm here to offer you a choice."**_

_"Choice? What choice! I died, end of story. Now whatever the hell you are, just let me go on." If I'd had a body, which by now I'd realized I didn't, I would have punched whoever it was. Sure, I was an electrical engineer and intelligent, but I was also violent and rather vulgar at times. Unless I liked whoever it was, in which case I was rather nice and hilarious. Or so I liked to think, anyway._

_**"You don't have to like me. So just listen to the choices."**_

_"If you're going to keep me here anyway, just hurry up and fucking say them." _

_**"Touchy aren't you. That'll have to change. But anyway, you have three choices. One: you can stay dead and go to Hell forever. Two: you can choose to survive as a paralyzed hunk of meat in your world and maybe fix your screwed up life so you can go to heaven."**_

_"I knew I was going to Hell anyway after some of the things I've done. I just didn't expect it to be so soon. But eh, go on to the third option," I interrupted. _

_The voice huffed before continuing__**, "You know, vulgarities aside, you're actually a lot calmer than most that end up here. A lot of them just end up yelling at me and refusing to believe that they're dead. You seem to have accepted that rather easily."**_

_"It comes from being abused and raised in foster care after watching your entire family being murdered and then killing the murderer. I've kind of been acclimatized to death. Now can we just get on with it? I don't want to be rude and keep the devil waiting."_

_**"The third option is rarely taken, for whatever reason. You'll die here, but I'll get your judgment suspended. I'll stick you into another universe, and you'll live through a second, possibly better, childhood. If, once you die there, your actions more than balance out your actions here then you won't have to go to Hell."**_

_"Why the fuck does nobody choose option three? This world sucks, so of course I'll take a chance for the new one. Now hurry it up!"_

_**"What? You don't even want to hear where you'll end up? What you'll have to do? Anything?"**_

_I stopped for a moment to think. "Nope. Just get me out of here already."_

_**"Hmmph."**__ The voice seemed to snort in indignation. __**"Don't expect any help from me for the first twenty years or so."**_

_And with that I felt a brief sense of movement, and everything went black again. Well, not black like the surroundings. I mean I passed out again._


	2. Prologue Two

**Author's Note: This won't follow canon very closely, as my memory is off and the MC will NOT be joining Shepard's crew. Shepard's history will be slightly different too. As in she was born in 2157, rather than 2154.**

**This chapter is basically glossing over the MC's past.**

* * *

I'd expected that idiotic voice to drop me in some universe I knew nothing about and just leave me to live a normal life. Instead, I'd been plopped down as a newborn in Mass-Fucking-Effect. I was stuck going through a second, admittedly nice, childhood as a sullen boy who knew almost everything that was going to happen, but also that nobody would believe him. Hell, even I found the idea of ancient squid robots with lasers hard to believe. And I'd played every single game in the series, as well as having read all of the lore, during college.

If I could've, I would have kissed whatever passed for the voice's mouth just because he sent me here. Early on in life I'd gotten an omnitool, and, even though my college education had been way outdated, it hadn't taken long until I'd been zipping around on the extranet and learning everything I hadn't known before. By the time my body was twelve I was , if I did say so myself, as intelligent and knowledgeable as some professors. I wasn't to the point of making my own omnitools yet, but was rather close.

Now, I could have punched the voice for the colony it had plopped me into. It was Mindoir, you see, and despite getting to grow up alongside a young, female Shepard, I knew what was going to happen. My parents here would laugh off my attempts to get them to move. I'd managed to convince my parents to get me a gun and some lessons with it. I was nowhere near as good as with my 'tool, but I could hit a decent sized target. Shepard was the only one of the farm brats here at the colony who shared my interest in tech and weaponry, and I might have tried to date her if I hadn't known how things would eventually turn out. As it was, I'd decided to leave that for later. If it was going to happen, it would happen.

I'd expected to be able to predict everything, but I hadn't expected both me and Shepard to show signs of biotics. Less than a month after they started showing up, we'd both been shipped off to an Alliance training facility. We were thirteen at the time. A month later, the Batarians razed Mindoir.

It hadn't been all that bad there, what with getting advanced tutoring from military personnel in tech and later biotics. We both got L3 implants and went through the entire training regimen together, along with a few other biotics. Unlike Alex, that was Shepard's first name, I didn't swear vengeance on the Batarians when they razed Mindoir. I'd been close to my parents, true, but I was desensitized to death already.

And now, ten years later, I'm standing in dress uniform with twelve other biotics. Of the twenty-five we started with, ten chose to graduate at eighteen. The twelve I was with had decided to go into the offered military programs. Alex and one other had done the same, but after three years went into N-7 training.

To get some authority for what I intended to do later on, I had stuck on with the military training program we were graduated into. While not as important or noteworthy as Grissom and other such places, the station we were on was nothing to sneeze at. It had facilities to train us for every branch of the military. I had gone through Spec-Ops training geared around my biotics and tech skills. I guess that classified me as a Sentinel, though I was much more tech oriented than biotics.

After the customary picture was taken and Admiral Hackett, and I mean THE Admiral Hackett, shook our hands we were given a day of shore leave aboard the station before our first assignments. I'd actually grown close to the people here, so I made promises to some to keep in touch when I could. I intended to keep them.

While I did not expect my first mission to be infiltrating the Blue Suns on Omega after our last informant there died in a gang war with Eclipse, I'd take it. What better place could I find to start building up a network to help Shepard later on? I could start using my talents to work for the Blue Suns, maybe get high up in their ranks, and get enough credits to be influential. Possibly get my own team of specialists to help out on some missions. And, of course, for my main plan.

To take down the Shadow Broker early and use his resources to get the galaxy actually prepared earlier.

**"Quite a change you've got planned there, much more than most who end up in your situation would risk. And quite dangerous for you as well. Perhaps this'll be more interesting than I'd planned."**


	3. Chapter One

I must have looked like a complete idiot when I bolted upright and smacked my head against the metal bars along the bottom of the bunk above me. My muffled cursing didn't hide the surprise I was feeling at hearing the voice again. I hoped it wasn't a sign that I was going crazy. That would not look good at my next psyche evaluation.

**"What, you didn't expect to hear from me again? You actually picking the third option is the most entertainment I've had in centuries. I just said not to expect any help for the first twenty or so years, but you're twenty-three now." **My head was silent for a second. **"And while I wouldn't say you aren't crazy, I definitely am not a cause or effect of that."**

Wait… was it reading my thoughts?

**"You seriously thought a deity that could move you through dimensions and universes on a whim couldn't read your thoughts?**

_"Just shut up! I'm making plans, I don't need some voice telling me what to do!"_

**"Rude as ever, I see. Seems that you don't want my advice. Very well, let's see you how badly you can fuck things up."**

Thankfully, he shut up after that. After replying to a message from Alex congratulating me on graduating, I fell asleep.

_"Remember kid, keep your cover simple. Don't contradict yourself, and remember that if you get caught you're on your own. The Alliance isn't responsible for anything you do, and you report everything important back to us,"_ the last words my mentor had spoken before I got on the shuttle played over and over in my mind. _"And most of all, be safe. You're a good man so far, and one of the best Spec-Ops has trained in years. You'll be on your own out there for the most part, so you'll have to rely on your own wits. Good luck."_

I was nervous. Sitting here in battered and half-functional armor with just a civilian pistol, I started to doubt my plan. I still had my latest custom 'tool, it fit with my cover after all, but everything else was sub-par. I didn't have the cutting edge weaponry and armor suits most Spec-Ops used. But the Blue Suns would have been wary if someone whose, falsified, records showed that he was a certified genius from a backwater colony in the Terminus showed up with Alliance-issue gear. My biotics would make this risky enough, but some colonies did have their own small training schools which my records would say I'd attended.

My plan was to walk into one of the Blue Suns' centers on the lower levels, and say I wanted to join. If things stood true to form, they'd give me some small job along with whoever else was wanting in. If we didn't fuck it up, we'd be screened and hired if they didn't think we were too big security risks. The screening would get more intense as I worked my way up in their ranks, I knew, but I would deal with that when the time came.

Half of the nervousness I was outwardly showing was real, and the other half was a facade put on to make the other passengers think I was no threat. The dingy interior of the shuttle was packed wall-to-wall with people. Some were just as nervous as I looked, and others seemed to be hardened mercs on their way to the station. Everyone was a little nervous due to the rickety nature of one of the few shuttles willing to take on passengers with no credits to spare, and the other half simply because of the three Krogan mercs huddled at one end of the shuttle. They were the only ones with any semblance of personal space.

It was a relief when we finally reached the station. I was one of the first off the shuttle, earning dirty looks from a few of the other mercs. I knew none of them would hesitate to attack me in one of the station's many alleyways… but as it was few would dare try anything in the streets. Even without any kind of law enforcement or laws of any kind, there were too many people with guns here. While most probably wouldn't care about muggings, some would intervene in hopes of a reward. And there was always the chance that Aria's henchmen would step in to 'preserve order'.

An hour into my walk, I was cursing this entire station. Whose bright idea was it to build everything on platforms sticking out from the walls or balanced on big columns, and then not put any elevators! My legs weren't hurting, Alliance conditioning had made sure of that, but it was annoying having to go down so many stairs. Sure, a skycar might have been a lot quicker to get around with, but those were few and far between on Omega. And I hadn't been given enough credits to hire one.

After another half hour of walking, I'd gotten down to one of the more contested districts, according to Spec-Op's intelligence network here. The fight for control was mostly between Eclipse and the Blue Suns. The people here were more subdued, constantly glancing around and hurrying to their destinations. While anywhere else this place would be considered slums, this area was actually middle-class for Omega. Even if it didn't have stores or restaurants. People were too afraid of the main merc factions to do much outside. And really, who could blame them? It was violent here after all. Gunfire, and quite a lot of it, was echoing around from somewhere nearby.

My 'tool already had a map of this district, the Lufuri District if I wasn't mistaken, and the known Blue Suns base was marked on my helmet's visor. Despite it having barely as much function as a microwave, the beat-up old thing had highlighted a path for me. And I had to admit, it was useful. At least until it led me through an alley shortcut that ended up with me bumping into what seemed to be a group of Blood-Pack mercs. At least, I didn't see what else the Krogan and two Vorcha could be working for in that armor.

And, of course, they reacted violently. Probably thought I was with a rival group... but whatever the reason, they shot first and asked questions later. With just my pistol, I'd have been dead meat. But I, of course, had my 'tool and biotics. After bringing up my barrier and stopping the rounds before they hit me, I threw out a shockwave that sent the two Vorcha flying. The Krogan didn't even waver in his charge, however, and I barely dove out of the way in time.

Using standard tactics against brutes such as he, I used my Omni-Blade to open up a deep cut in his tough hide as he charged past. The angry bellow and shotgun blast that followed nearly took out my barrier. Another shockwave made sure that the Vorcha wouldn't be shooting at me while I dealt with the Krogan. A strengthened barrier around my arm blocked the brunt of the merc's punch, though some of the force carried through and bruised my limb, before I countered with a biotic punch. The energy gathered around my fist saved my fingers from breaking as they left a sizeable dent in his armor.

The Krogan just kept on punching, but I managed to dodge most of the blows and weather the ones that connected. This armor wouldn't stand up to an angry Krogan. Not many things could, after all. After a particularly strong blow that left my left shoulder numb, I sent a customized incinerate program into his stomach. The ball of plasma melted rather efficiently through his armor at this range, and as the beast reared back in actual pain I rammed another Omni-Blade through his head. Another two stabs just to make sure he was actually dead, and then a storm of bullets hit my barrier.

It collapsed as I whirled around and sent another burst of plasma into one of the Vorcha. The thing shattered against its shields, but they failed as it burned through them and melted through the alien's chest cavity. A few rounds from the others skidded off the metal of my armor from glancing blows, but one punched through on my upper left arm and sent white-hot pain flaring through my brain. As my 'tool was still cooling down at the same time the last merc's rifle had to vent, I pulled out my pistol and fired every shot in its meager heat sinks at the alien. It pounced at me, but my aim held true and the last round put a sizeable hole in its head. The body still crashed into me and sent me rolling.

With everything done, I took stock of myself. My armor was even more dented and scuffed than before, with the paint scraped away in places, but only one actual breach existed. Even with blood oozing out of it, the wound wasn't too bad. The small amount of medigel that had been left inside the armor when Spec-Ops acquired it had already been diverted to seal the hole in my arm. Aside from my shoulder still being a little bit numb, I was just fine. This small hiccup in my plans, hopefully, wouldn't affect anything later on.

I vented my pistol during the short walk that remained, and then collapsed it on one of the magnetic strips along my hip. The cooling systems here were inefficient like that, but I knew that it was only a few years before thermal clips came into use. Those would be much more efficient, as the Geth would prove. Maybe if I took over the Shadow Broker's position soon enough, I could get them in use a bit earlier.

**"That's a major change right there. I don't think you'll like how it…"**

_"Quiet you. I don't need input from the voice in my head on my plans. I am perfectly capable of saving enough lives through my actions here to redeem myself in the eyes of whoever's in charge up there. And if not, well, I'll have had a good run"_

Thankfully the voice shut up just as I walked up into the small building that housed this district's Blue Suns headquarters. The Batarian guards outside the doors glared at me, but let me through nonetheless. Inside, there were a few more Human and Turian guards around the doors leading further in. Two Turians, another human, and one really rare sight stood in front of the desk. The rare sight was a fully armored Batarian woman with equipment of a much higher caliber than my own. The human was quite a bit like me equipment-wise, but the Turians were just as well-equipped as the Batarian. One was obviously working for the Blue Suns, an officer of some kind most likely, and the other one seemed to have military equipment. The odd part was that it was a female, her face painted entirely black, with a big sniper rifle strapped to her back.

"Who the Hell are you?" The Blue Suns representative glared at me. Probably a racist veteran from the First Contact War then.

"Selos Viermanos." That was my original name, and my cover identity. Of course, I was known by another name to Shepard, the other biotics, and the Spec-Ops command. "I want to join the Blue Suns."

"This is your lucky day then. We were about to send these three out on a trial run. Tag along, and if you don't die we'll see. I already gave them the briefing. Have one of them explain it to you on the way. Or, if you can't work with them _human, _just leave now." And with that the surly Turian turned and walked out. He muttered something to one of the Turian guards, who came over and gestured for us to follow.

I was still getting suspicious glares from the others but I knew that they wouldn't jeopardize their future employment by starting a fight with teammates. A shuttle touched down just outside the building and we got in. The doors shut, and I was stuck in it with the people I would be trusting my life to on this op. I got the feeling that they didn't really like me.

"So, what's the job?" I asked after I realized that nobody was going to speak. The silence was quite awkward until the Turian broke it.

"Apparently some local mercenary group thought that it would be a good idea to take over one of the mines that pay the Suns for protection. We're supposed to terminate them all." She looked disapprovingly at the other human and me. Hopefully it was just our equipment. "You two won't stand a chance against the mercs like that. Your little peashooter would be lucky to even get through their shields." The last part was obviously directed at me. After all, the other human had a beat up shotgun.

"I don't intend to have to use the pistol. If they can get past this..." I paused to open my 'tool, which flared up in a custom emerald green burst, and then charged a biotic punch in my other, numb, arm, "and this, then I'm dead anyway."

The human next to me gave me a glare and scooted away. Apparently she didn't like biotics. The Turian seemed indifferent, and I couldn't see through the Batarian's visor. However, before I'd even re-absorbed the biotic energy from my hand, a surprisingly feminine voice filtered out of the helmet. It was a bit rough and throaty, like all Batarian's, but still surprisingly identifiable as female.

"So, you have biotics and tech. You'll die just as easily as anyone else if you don't know how to use them, or don't have the brains to stay in cover." The tone seemed to be sarcastic, but I could never tell with Batarians. I recognized that the way she tilted her head to the right was an insult. I also noted that her shotgun was an AT-12 Raider… Special Interventions unit, then. That bumped her way up above the Turian on my threat list. This team I was stuck with, well, the tension could be cut with a knife. Two obvious professional soldiers who looked down on me and the other human, tension because I was a biotic, tension between the Batarian and us humans... we'd be lucky if all four of us survived.

The woman next to me ignored all attempts to talk to her, and the other two gruffly rebuffed my attempts at conversation. The pilot dropped us off a little bit away from the mine we were supposed to take back. It flew off not too long afterwards. I had my barrier up by the time its entrance came in sight, and several different combat programs cued on my 'tool for whatever we found. I looked around at the other three as they prepped too. The Turian unfolded her rifle and turned on her military-grade shield generator, while the human muttered a quiet prayer and turned on her sub-par and obsolete model. The Batarian, surprisingly, had a biotic barrier pop up around her as she made sure her shotgun was ready.

The guards standing outside the entrance to the mineshaft opened fire immediately when they saw us. The Batarian reared back and then hit the human on the right with a biotic charge, and the Asari on the left fell with a fresh air hole drilled in her skull as the warp she's been about to launch sputtered out before reaching us. Their armor seemed a lot better in quality than your run-of-the-mill gang's, and then as we got closer I realized why.

"What the Hell?" I shouted as I caught sight of the logo on their armor. "They didn't say we'd be up against fucking Eclipse!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Not sure how good the quality of the first three chapters is. It's old writing of mine, combined with new edits. After Chapter Three, the writing will be all new. Updates will probably be either once a week for the foreseeable future. Will try to improve the length, though.**


	4. Chapter Two

"Doesn't matter. If we want into the Blue Suns, we do this job. For all we know Eclipse took out the local mercs we were initially sent here to get rid of." The Turian did the closest thing she could to a shrug. "Or maybe they sent us here as pointless cannon fodder to soften up Eclipse before they send in an actual team. We do the job whether they actually meant for us to survive or not."

None of us could argue with her, so in the doors we went. We only ran into mechs while going through the offices, and I hacked two while the others mopped up the rest. The only wound we took was a scrape along the edge of the other human's arm. The walls and such showed signs that there had been a fight here, but whether it was between the mine's guards, who may or may not have been Blue Suns, and Eclipse or Eclipse and other mercenaries I couldn't be sure.

Things had been going surprisingly easily, and with my tech skills the mechs fell way too quickly. So we got overconfident, and I didn't realize we were walking into a trap until it was too late. I'd ignored nearly all of my training from the past five years and hadn't noticed how the mechs always seemed to be leading us straight on, never into the side doors and actual office blocks, just along the central hallway.

As we stepped out into the mine proper, everything went to hell. Three YMIR mechs unfolded as at least a dozen Eclipse troopers popped up from behind the ubiquitous crates that seemed to be in every Mass Effect combat zone. As dozens of rounds peppered our shields, we sprang into cover as quickly as possible. The other human was too slow though, and a rocket caught her before she could get behind anything. We watched helplessly as she flew back into the wall and slid down with a sickening thud. If she wasn't dead already, she would be before too long.

This situation was a tactical nightmare. We couldn't look over the cover without being filled with more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese, much less hope to get any shots off. So I brought up my 'tool and worked as fast as I could on getting a specialized hacking program prepped. First it brought up the nearby computing hubs, which included the office terminals and the YMIRs, and I focused on the one in the middle. These things had much better security than the LOKIs did, but after thirty seconds I was through the firewalls. Instead of bothering to have it fire on the Eclipse troops, I set it to overload. The resulting explosion left a rather nice silence as the staccato bursts of mass accelerator fire petered off. Most likely from the shockwave that I could feel passing over my cover. Maybe a second mech had detonated too. Risking a look over the crate, I saw that all three were down. That was a bit bigger of an explosion than I remembered from the games.

We took the opportunity I'd made and launched a counteroffensive. Quite an effective one, if I may say so myself. With the YMIRs laying in pieces along the ground, the Batarian was free to charge into a cluster of four mercs and send one flying, her shotgun barking twice and blowing a gaping hole in another one's chest. The Turian was calmly picking them off with her rifle, but unlike most of the mechs and the guards outside, their shields could deflect one shot from it. For the most part anyway.

So, after getting a brief nod from her, we started working as a team. I would overload their shields, and then she would put a round through their head. Over the next thirty seconds they started firing back, but four of them still fell to me and the Turian's deadly combination. And they couldn't stay out of cover long enough to effectively break our shields and barriers, or stay still long enough to line up a good shot with heavier weapons because of the Batarian ripping through them with biotics.

Only five of them were left when the tides turned again. Apparently one of the mechs was still partially functioning, because after a brief whirring a rocket crashed into a crate just behind the Batarian. It shredded the merc she was fighting, but the explosion sent her flying out into the open space between our cover and theirs. The mere fact that she screamed made me realize that something was wrong. Even though she hated me, I couldn't just let an ally die when I could stop it.

So, going against several alliance regulations, I jumped out from my cover in the middle of a firefight and ran into the 'killing field' in between the major groupings of cover. The Turian realized what I was trying to do, and tried to give us covering fire. But a sniper rifle isn't the best for that, and while it was venting two of the mercs forced her to duck back down. My barrier held, barely, as I dashed over to the Batarian.

They seemed to realize that I was trying to save the Batarian, and most of the guns aimed at me switched to her. Before I got close enough to use a trick that one of my instructors had learned from an Asari commando, several of the accelerated shards of metal found their marks. Then I was on top of her.

My instructor had no idea what it was called, but he knew it worked. An Asari Commando had taught him it after he'd saved her life, and it involved enlarging your barrier. All biotics were taught from birth that their barriers would save their lives one day, and that they were also the most power intensive thing you would have to maintain. Usually over half of your energy went into keeping them going, with the other half available for other uses without weakening it unduly. But, of course, you could consciously force more power into the barrier to make it stronger. But the bigger it was, the more area it covered, the weaker it got. That's why most barriers were kept skintight instead of being a few inches away from the skin as shields were.

The trick involved forcing all of your power into the barrier, and expanding it further out. It took a lot of concentration, and even after just a few seconds I was really feeling the strain. I'd forced the barrier out into a dome that surrounded me and the Batarian. The bluish-purple light spread from my hands, and stopped the streams of bullets flying at me. Each hit vibrated through into my arms, and I instantly knew I wouldn't be able to hold this up for long.

"Look, whatever your name is, if you're conscious enough to use your biotics right now I'd really appreciate the help. Otherwise we're both dead," I managed to hiss out through gritted teeth. The Batarian didn't reply, but from the pained breathing coming out of her helmet she was at least alive.

After ten seconds, I knew that I'd be lucky to hold it up for another ten. Sweat was running into my eyes, but I could see that the Turian was working overtime to save us. She'd switched from the rifle to a Phaeston that I didn't even know she'd been carrying. I only saw three mercs still standing, and one of them got pulled into the rounds directed towards us as a tendril of power stretched out from the Batarian's hand.

I knew I couldn't hold the barrier any longer, and the Turian's Phaeston was venting. The Batarian had passed out, and the barrier was about to collapse. So, while one of the surviving Eclipse was venting their rifle, I collapsed the barrier. I had just enough power left to reach out and, as several rounds punched through my armor in various places, slam the last two Eclipse together. So hard that the glass in their helmets shattered as their heads crunched inwards.

I passed out after that.

* * *

My body hurt worse than it ever had during training, even worse than when I broke four bones on the obstacle course. My memory came back after a second, and I realized that the painful areas were where I'd been shot.

"Name?" The distinctive flanging tone told me that whoever was talking was a Turian.

"Wha…?" I reached up and grabbed at my head as it started throbbing too. It took me a minute to realize that I wasn't wearing my helmet.

"I asked for your name. We can't run your background check without it." The man almost seemed bored.

"Selos Viermanos, like I told the Turian at your outpost. But what background check?" I was still groggy. I didn't immediately remember that the Suns ran checks on all their people.

"The one you're talking about went off duty, so we couldn't get it from him." The slight buzz that always accompanied typing on a holo-keyboard followed his answer. "We're all pretty surprised that you three survived."

"Wait… us three? Weren't there four of us?" I groaned and managed to sit up. When my eyes opened, I took a look around. We were inside somewhere, but it didn't seem to be the mine. I could see the Turian and the Batarian were going through something similar to me. Maybe we were back at the Blue Suns base? "Why didn't any of you tell us we were going up against fucking Eclipse?"

"When we sent you it was just a local gang and small time merc group, for anyone too poor to get us. Eclipse must have moved in while we were sending you." The merc paused briefly as he typed more on his 'tool. "And I said three because the other human died. Unlike Turians and Krogan, your kind aren't tough enough to take a rocket with anything less than military grade shielding. It's almost guaranteed now that you three will get in, but we still have to run the background checks. Procedure and all that."

"So I can stay here?" Spec-Ops hadn't known exactly how long the background checks that the Blue Suns ran would take. I was hoping I'd get to stay here until they were done. I didn't have anywhere to stay, and I doubt anyone would rent an apartment to someone with no credits and several recent bullet holes in his armor. But then again, this was Omega.

"No. Come back tomorrow morning, and if the background check passes you'll be hired. Until then, you've got to stay somewhere else." He leaned in to whisper his next words. "Between you and me, I wouldn't be surprised if you got a bonus for all the damage you caused to Eclipse. Nearly thirty LOKIs, three YMIRs, and a fourteen of their people… that's at least fifty-thousand credits in damage, plus whatever else they may have lost. Spirits, you might even start off as more than just grunts after that."

"Never know. So, am I good to get up then?" The pain was fading somewhat, but it still hurt like hell.

"You should be. You took quite a few rounds, but none of them hit anything vital. A few synth-skin patches and medigel was all it took. Same for the Turian you were working with. The Batarian wasn't so lucky." He nodded in her direction and splayed his mandibles in what I assumed was a wince. "A dozen holes that patched as easily as yours did, but she also had a broken leg, probably from an explosion. She won't be walking by herself for two weeks at best, and won't be combat ready for another two after that."

After politely bidding the medic goodbye, I got up and gingerly walked over to where the Turian was standing. She had a few wounds, but not near as many as me and the Batarian. On the way I collapsed my helmet and hung it next to my pistol.

"You did good out there." She nodded at me.

"I thought most Turians distrusted biotics with how they got sequestered into the Cabals?"

"Impressive knowledge there Human, and mostly true." She paused to shrug, or at least do something close to it. "I honestly don't care. I worked alongside the Cabals just as much as standard troops. Besides, I'm not exactly your average Turian."

"I wouldn't know." I shrugged. "I was raised on a backwater colony. The first aliens I saw in person were on the shuttle ride here. So, what happened after I passed out?"

"You mean after you risked your skin to save someone you didn't even know?" She chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to impress her and, as I've heard you humans say, 'get into her pants'."

My protests just came out as sputtering because I definitely had not been expecting that. After her laughing died down, I managed to actually form a coherent sentence. "Well,I can guess at your sense of humor now. We're going to get along just fine. Since you've thoroughly embarrassed me already, and we fought together, can I at least know your name?"

"Tivari Millarah. Former Hierarchy infiltrator specializing in demolitions, and currently an outcast seeking employment in the Blue Suns." She gave me the Turian version of a grin.

"Will you two stop talking and help me stand?" the gruff, if feminine, voice of the Batarian interrupted before I could reply. I'd noticed that the medics and techs had left, leaving us standing here with just one guard on watch. And, of course, leaving the Batarian on her bed with one leg in a cast underneath her armor and an order to be gone before the night-cycle started.

The Turian made no move to help, so with a mental sigh I helped the Batarian stand. She nearly collapsed when she was too stubborn to lean on me, but I caught her and she reluctantly draped an arm around my shoulder. I, unlike Alex, had nothing against Batarians. This one, on the other hand, was giving the back of my head a glare harsh enough to make a Krogan reconsider doing something. But with her left leg broken she had no choice but to accept my help.

"Batarian, don't you think you should at least thank Selos here for saving your life back in that mine? The least you could do after he got shot eight times for you is give him your name." I couldn't tell if the Turian was joking or not.

"Lani," She growled that one word loud enough for me and Tivari to hear. The next ones were whispered straight into my ear, "I don't like or trust you. But you did risk yourself to save me, and your biotics are strong. So you've earned some respect."

I really didn't know where she was going along that line of thought. "But if that arm drops any lower, those bullet wounds will be the least of your worries." If I hadn't had a gauntlet on, or had my helmet still been on, I would have facepalmed. The arm I'd put under Lani's shoulders to help support her was close to a certain area, one that apparently Batarians were just as sensitive about as humans.

Sure that both of them could see the blush on my face, I raised my arm as high as I could with it still helping her stand.

"Well, now that that awkwardness is out of the way, c'mon." Tivari got behinds us and started pushing us forward with taloned hands. Lani and I nearly fell as we stumbled toward the door, but we managed to get our feet in sync and start moving at a decent pace.

"Hey, careful! I do have a broken leg here!" Lani barked as Tivari marched us into the hallway. "I might be Ex-Special Interventions, but it still hurts like hell to move."

"What do you expect when you don't get out of the way of a rocket? You're lucky just to have a dozen bullet holes and a broken leg." I was glad for my armor. Without it odds were the Turian's talons would be digging rather painfully into my back. "It certainly doesn't help that these people were too stingy to give us painkillers, and the medigel only goes so far. So I'm taking you two out for a decidedly more primitive painkiller."

Oh shit… if she meant what I think she did I was in trouble. As much as I knew alcohol would take my mind away from the lingering pain, I had never had much of a tolerance for it. I probably wouldn't blow either of my big secrets, but still. The last time I'd been drunk I had ended up handcuffed to a bed without any pants and Alex passed out on the floor. We'd agreed not to talk about that incident seeing as how neither of us remembered anything.

"Wait… we met a few hours ago and you're already offering to buy us drinks?" Lani chuckled. It was deep and throaty, but different from how most Batarian's I'd heard sounded. "I'm not complaining, but that's a bit rash."

"I've never been that cautious." Another oddly human shrug. Apparently she really liked that gesture. "After all, no Turian in their right mind would go after an admiral's daughter. Part of the reason they cast me out. But enough of that. We fought together and watched each other's backs, so to me we're brothers and sisters in arms. That makes us close enough to family, and I'm getting this family drunk before the night is over."

Apparently Tivari knew a really good bar that wasn't too far away and that served both levo and dextro alcohol. For the first ten minutes of the walk, we answered a few questions about each other's pasts. I stuck with my cover story, but some real info about me did make it in. She really didn't seem to care about her past very much. As shown by how she casually explained that she'd gotten exiled because she'd pissed off an admiral by fucking his daughter. That's why her face was painted black, the mark of an outcast.

After that I had to put most of my focus into helping Lani walk. Even with the Alliance's fitness requirements, it was draining to help a Batarian walk for so far. It didn't help that she wasn't the lightest of people. I hadn't eaten for nearly a day, so I really hoped that the bar had food too.

Thankfully it did. We got a table in the back. While the food I'd asked for was cooking, the Batarian took off her helmet and hung it down on her armor like me and Tivari had. Her face was a bit different from the other Batarians I'd seen. The facial ridges were smaller, and actually kind of close to a human skin tone in color. The rest of her skin was a dull, dusty red, like Mars, in color. I honestly had no idea if that was normal or not… next to nobody had seen Batarian females before. Supposedly they were extremely rare outside of Hegemony-Controlled space. Nobody had any idea why.

I had no idea what the food I'd ordered was, but it got here at the same time as the drinks. The Asari waitress sat two bottles down. One was a dark purple dextro wine or some such, and I think the other was some kind of Batarian whiskey. Whatever it was, Lani's four onyx orbs seemed to light up upon seeing it. Surprisingly, she poured a shot for me along with hers. While Tivari was filling a glass with her drink of choice, I tried my food. And nearly threw up. Somehow it tasted burnt and raw at the same time, and reminded me of the time I'd had to eat raw varren during one of our few off-station training exercises.

"Shall we toast?" the question, surprisingly, came from the Turian. Apparently drinking customs were similar everywhere. Lani and I both nodded.

"To another battle won, another day survived, and future employment!" We clinked glasses and started drinking. Lani and I drained our shot glasses in one gulp, while Tivari just sipped at her glass. The whiskey burned like fire on the way down, way stronger than anything I'd had in this life or my last. At least I kept from coughing or sputtering.

"Not bad human. Not many of your kind can drink even that much _Ki'Kreth_ without coughing or throwing it up." If I wasn't wrong, I heard a note of approval in her voice. "Let's see how much you can take."

Several shots later, and a not-so-familiar haze was settling into my thoughts. Every time I spoke my words were slurred. As Lani filled up our shot glasses again, I took another few bites of my food. It was starting to taste pretty damn good…

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, whaddya think so far?**

**Also, I've figured out my update schedule (I think.) Bi-Weekly when possible (Sundays and Fridays), with the update being on Friday when I miss Sunday. Anyway, see you Friday!**


	5. Chapter Three

**Author's Note: By the way, while it may have seemed like the main character took his second parents' deaths and his new home's destruction lightly, well I never said that. I just said he didn't take it as hard as Shepard did. He knew it would happen, and his parents had refused to leave. They also had shipped him off to the training facility without his consent. So yeah, on with the story.**

* * *

Ugh… it felt like an angry porcupine was dancing around inside my skull. I let out a moan as I tried to peel myself away from whatever soft surface my face was currently buried in. A blanket maybe? But where? I couldn't really remember anything after Tivari punched that obnoxious Turian in the balls, or whatever Turians have that passes for them. Just more drinking. Gah, this headache was making it hard to even think.

After a few moments the throbbing in my head calmed enough that I thought it was fine to open my eyes. Bad idea. Even though there wasn't much light wherever I was, it was still more than enough to make the porcupine call over some friends. As I groan again and curl up on the rather spongy surface of what I now think is a bed, I hear a shuffle of movement as something tries to pull the covers out from under me.

Another minute passed slowly, or for all I know it could have been an hour, before I felt well enough to find the edge of the bed and sit up. It's only then that I realize that I didn't have any pants on, and most definitely was not wearing my armor. A quick check ensured that aside from my rapidly healing bullet wounds and an aching spot on the side of my face, I was fine. Not handcuffed to anything, no missing limbs or harvested organs. Nothing seemed out of place. Wary of the light, I managed to pry my eyes open and take a look around. I'm in what seems to be an apartment of some kind, with my armor and some oddly familiar pieces that weren't mine scattered across the floor.

"What the Hell did I do last night?" I ask to myself as I try to scrub the terrible taste out of my mouth with the back of my hand. Another bad idea. There's some odd tasting substance caked on the back of it. The taste wasn't bad, per-se, but as a general rule I think it's smart NOT to eat anything on your body after a night of drinking.

"I have no idea, aside from us both getting extremely drunk." The voice made it click why the other armor was familiar. It was Lani's, which meant…oh God. I really hoped this didn't turn out to be like how I feared the last time I'd woken up in an apartment with no pants had been. "Everything after you getting slapped by that waitress is a blur."

"Well, that would explain why my face hurts. But not why I'm in your apartment." I sighed and stretched, hearing my back pop several times. "This is an awkward question, but would you by any chance know where my pants and underwear are?"

"Ugh… this is disgusting, but I think I'm using them as a pillow." Two bundles sailed over and, despite my headache, I managed to catch them. "Even for a biotic, you can definitely hold your liquor. I haven't been this drunk for over a decade."

I pulled on my pants, not even daring to turn around and face Lani with how red my face was. She was probably in a similar state to me too…that thought just served to make my cheeks even redder. "Where's your bathroom?"

"Out the door there and on the left. Don't touch anything in there." I gathered up what I could identify as being part of my armor and then hurried out into the bathroom. I somehow managed to keep my attention away from all the rather embarrassing personal effects scattered around as I relieved myself, washed the foul taste from my mouth and the gunk from my hand, and then struggled into my armor.

Even though my head was still throbbing, I was feeling a lot better when I came back out . I wondered what was taking Lani so long when I realized that she still had a broken leg. A few seconds later her voice came echoing out, "Ugh… it really, really pains me to ask, but come in here. I kinda need some help."

I walked in without thinking, and only barely averted my eyes before seeing something I knew I'd regret. Especially with the threat that followed. "Look up, and I'll make sure that you won't survive to be accepted into the Blue Suns. Just hand me things when I ask."

She must have been in just as much of a clothing crisis as I had been when I woke up, which really didn't make me too optimistic as to what had happened. I didn't know if anything sexual had happened when me and Alex were drunk and I'd gotten handcuffed, but if not it didn't really say much about my charms if my first time in this life was with a broken-legged Batarian who only semi-respected me. Especially since we were both dead drunk at the time. After handing her several unmentionable items scattered around the floor, a shirt, and pants, all of which she struggled into with minimal pained grunting, I started giving her pieces of her armor.

Somehow she managed to get it all on, and then found her shotgun. It collapsed across the back of her armor, and then she tried to stand. Rather predictably her left leg gave out as soon as she put weight on it so I had to catch her. We maneuvered into what seemed to be a cross between a sitting room and a kitchen, and she had me hold her up near one of the cabinets while she made something on a futuristic stove thingy.

"Here, drink this. It'll help with your hangover." She handed me a cup of some black, steaming liquid. It tasted surprisingly similar to coffee, which I'd never liked. But it did help with my headache, so I drank it all. Shortly after, even though we both had to be damned hungry, we set off for the Blue Suns outpost.

"We need to talk about last night." She practically growled into my ear. Earlier she'd seemed almost companionable, but now she was back to how she'd been when not drunk. But then again, it could be her period. Wait…did Batarians even have those? Why was I even thinking about this?

"To talk about it we'd need to remember it. I don't really remember anything after Tivari punched that guy in the nuts. In fact, the only thing I can remember after that is you throwing a Volus into a dumpster. I think I was hallucinating there."

"No, I remember that," her tone got oddly peppy as she let out a creepy laugh. "Stupid thing tried to rob us. Said something about being a Biotic God. His warp didn't even get through my armor before we threw him into that dumpster."

"Wait…that actually happened?" At a nod from her that confirmed it, I busted out laughing too. "Holy shit, just how much did we drink?"

**Quite a bit actually. Was the most entertaining thing I've seen in centuries. **

_You do know that this is really starting to make me think I'm crazy, right?_ And it was true. I remembered the talk in the void after I died, but I wasn't certain that I hadn't hallucinated it. You know, I'm actually surprised I'm taking this entire dimension switch as well as I have. But the voice in my head might just be the last straw.

**You're no fun to talk to. But if I were you, I'd get your attention back on the conversation with that Batarian you fooled around with last night.**

I decided to ignore that last part as I realized that Lani had just finished answering my question. "… again?"

"Um… what did you say? I was a bit distracted," I'd actually made up the excuse, but when I looked around I saw a Krogan pinning a Quarian to the wall of an alley that branched off from the market we were in. "Do you think we should do something there?"

"Why? That Krogan is probably just teaching the suit-rat thief a lesson." The callousness in Lani's voice disgusted me. I mean, sure, I wasn't the most compassionate or caring of a person, but racism against an entire species just rubbed me the wrong way.

"Not all Quarians are thieves." I maneuvered over to leave her leaning against the wall of the alley. "I can't just let this go on without stepping in."

"Suit yourself. Just try not to get yourself smashed." For a second I thought that she might have actually cared a little about me after I'd saved her life, but her next words dashed that. "I don't fancy trying to walk the rest of the way by myself."

I could feel her eyes on me as I stalked up to the Krogan as he continued yelling at the Quarian. I took the most threatening pose I could as I said, "What the fuck is going on here?"

"None of your damn business, Human." He barely even glanced my way as his grip tightened around the Quarian's throat. "Now get out of here while I teach this thief not to steal from a Krogan."

"And how do you know the Quarian stole from you? This is Omega after all, and at least half the people here are thieves." I didn't even flinch as the Krogan let the Quarian slide down the wall and rounded on me with a growl.

"Everyone knows that suit-rats are thieves. So when my two hundred credits went missing, it was obviously this bitch," he growled. "Now get the fuck out of my sight before I turn you into a pile of sludge on the ground like this suit-rat will soon be."

"Miss, did you take this Krogan's credits?" I ignored the threat and called out to the Quarian. She was too busy coughing and hacking to do anything more than shake her head. While I replied I tapped out a short command on my 'tool. "Well, that's good enough for me. Now, are you going to leave, or am I going to have to pop that pretty little plate off your head?"

I saw the Krogan falter a little at that. Most likely turning over the thought that I might know about the plate. Apparently he decided that I was bluffing when he saw that I didn't have a knife anywhere. And I knew an Omni-blade wouldn't work for this.

"Oh, Lani, you wouldn't happen to have a knife would you?" I called over my shoulder as I swayed away from the first punch. Her only reply was to send a dull black circle of metal spinning through the air at me. I managed to catch it, looking much more impressive than I really was, and then used my biotics to whirl the Krogan around. The point of the knife ended up lodged just so that I could pop the plate off with just a little bit of pressure. The Krogan realized this, and froze.

"Last chance. You can either run now, or I'll pop this plate right off and we'll see what little brains you have." My voice, previously calm and collected, was a menacing hiss now. Some of my instructors had actually told me that the voice alone would be enough to get some people to spill their guts. It seems they were right.

The Krogan finally wizened up and ran after elbowing his way out of my grip. I tossed the knife back to Lani, who caught it with ease, and walked over to the Quarian.

"Are you all right Miss…?" I asked as I offered her a hand up. After a few seconds of hesitation she took it and let me pull her up.

"I… thank you. I don't think anything's broken…" she trailed off as she ran her hands up and down certain areas of her suit, which was tinged light green along with whatever her head-cloth thing was. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't stopped to help."

"Easy. You'd have been smashed to a pulp and smeared all around the walls." I shrugged as my 'tool dinged. I looked down at it and started inputting more commands as I continued, "But that's not the worst that could have happened. He could have just ruptured your suit or broken your face-mask and left you to die of infection, or, heaven-forbid, raped you and left you to die."

While I could only see her eyes through the mask, I was pretty certain she'd paled as I spoke. At least, that's what the shivering and audible gulp seemed to imply. Her voice was even more apprehensive as she nervously said, "I can never thank your enough for saving me. Nobody else here has looked at me with anything other than contempt."

I gave her a consoling pat on the shoulder, a gesture that she didn't seem to understand, as I finished with my 'tool. Her 'tool dinged a moment later, and I gave her a grin as I spoke, "People are idiots. Racism just because of a person's species makes me sick. If I cared about prejudices like that, I probably wouldn't be lugging Lani around." She let out a gasp of surprise as she saw what I'd sent her. "You still haven't told me your name yet, by the way."

"Oh, sorry. I'm Nili'Zanah nar Ilnari." She hugged me and I realized that she only came up to my shoulder. She was short by both human and Quarian standards. "After what you just did for me I can't accept a gift like this. Wait...how did you even get into my Omni-Tool to send it?"

"Well Miss Zanah, I feel that you're more entitled to those three thousand credits than I am. After all, I did just take them from the Krogan that erroneously labeled you a thief. Consider it his rather impromptu apology for nearly killing you." I gently pried her arms from around my torso and stepped away from the hug. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think my broken-legged Batarian friend is getting impatient. Send me a message if you need anything."

I walked off after that, leaving the young Quarian, most likely on her pilgrimage, staring in awe at the sizeable chunk of credits that I'd given her. Lani grudgingly accepted my arm as we hobbled along, getting glares from the Humans and Batarians we passed. It was surprising how easy hacking Omni-Tools was. They were supposed to have great firewalls, but even without paying attention I could set a program to hack through them and siphon off everything they had in a matter of seconds.

"Anyway, back to what I was saying before that happened…" She coughed to clear her throat before continuing, "Since neither of us have any recollection of what may or may not have happened last night, including why we were in a rather, ah, compromising position in my apartment, I say that we should never talk about this again. Agreed?"

I glanced at her face from the corner of my eye, almost certain that she was blushing from her tone of voice, but I saw nothing different. Maybe I just didn't know Batarian body language well enough. All I really knew was that the head tilt to the left was respectful, and to the right was an insult. There had to be more to it than that, but Spec-Ops instructors hadn't really gotten close enough to any Batarians to figure it out.

"Agreed. This conversation never happened." I was silent for a few minutes. "So… you mentioned last night that you had been in the Special Interventions unit? I thought they were male-only."

"Generally true." She shrugged. "I don't really want to talk about it, but I wasn't privileged growing up. One of the high-ups in Special Interventions considered me a trophy because of my biotics. Eventually I just snapped and killed him and his guests. After that Special Interventions recruited me, gave me the best equipment money could buy, and fifteen years later I'm here. With the rather generous pay, I don't even need to be a merc after my time there. I've been bored since I left though, and this seems to best way to put my skills to use."

I didn't really know how to reply to that, so I stayed silent. After another couple of minutes, during which I was starting to get tired from helping Lani walk, she spoke up again. "Sooo… arrogant much?"

"What?" I wasn't sure what she meant by that

"Oh please, you were bragging shamelessly last night. Are you saying that, 'highest recorded IQ in a Human colony' and 'one of the most skilled Human techs to ever exist' isn't arrogant?" She tried to elbow me in the side, obviously forgetting that we both had armor on, as she started laughing.

"It's not arrogant if it's true. You can find the results of my tests online, and who else do you know that's been making their own Omni-Tools since they were a child? Besides, have you ever seen a Batarian make a Krogan run like that?" I childishly stuck my tongue out at her. I did not see the slap coming until her gauntlet impacted my un-bruised cheek and snapped my head to the side. I was lucky I didn't lose any teeth to it.

"What was that for?" The words were barely understandable as I prodded around with my tongue to make sure everything was intact.

"Never do that again." She hissed out through gritted teeth, adding extra emphasis to the first word. I, rather logically, assumed that the childish gesture was some kind of insult or implication in Batarian culture.

The almost friendly conversation was completely dead after that, and a chilly silence replaced it. If Lani hadn't known for certain that she would fall without my help, I would have bet the entire Spec-Ops budget that she'd have shoved me away and stormed off. As it was, we were stuck in a rather tense atmosphere as we finished up the trip to the Blue Sun's outpost.

When we got in there one of the Turian guards seemed to recognize us. He gestured for us to follow him through a series of doors until we came to one labeled, "Pavin Te'Nuris, Lufuri District Commander." He activated the roundel and when it turned green gestured for us to walk in. The door shut behind us as I saw Tivari lounging around in a chair while she spoke with the Turian from before. The one who hadn't seemed to like me.

"You two are finally here. I wasn't sure if we'd be seeing you, what with how much you both had to drink last night. It's a miracle that you even made it wherever you were going." She started chuckling when she saw my face. Her next words were accentuated by a talon lazily pointed in my general direction. "I remember that Asari slapping you, but what's the other one from? It looks a lot fresher."

She seemed to come to an admittedly logical conclusion when neither of us volunteered a reply. Her chuckles got deeper as my cheeks flamed red. I maneuvered Lani to a nearby chair and then plopped into one myself as she answered her own question, "I know you two were hanging off of each other last night, but really? That's certainly an unexpected outcome. Apparently by the both of you if that handprint is any indication."

The Blue Suns commander for this area cleared his throat to remind us that we were supposed to be talking business.

"As you all probably guessed by now, I'm in charge of all Blue Suns operations in this district. Until we can get it locked down with some semblance of control, we can't go into standard operating procedure. As it is, we're on what is officially known as 'Combat Protocol'. This means…"

I stopped paying attention after that. I already knew the inner workings of the organization from the Spec-Ops briefing. Their expendable grunts were taken from two lower ranks, whose names slipped my mind at the moment. Above that were Centurions who, as in the ancient Roman Empire, were the officers in charge of most major missions. Above that, the ranks became more generic as the command structure rose. Our previous informant had also notified us of the existence of special units that they used for deep-cover ops, or in areas that their run-of-the-mill troops couldn't operate. But he'd died before getting any real information on them.

I paid a semblance of attention to his explanation as I mulled over something that had only just occurred to me. From the info we had, recruits could choose to work by themselves when possible, or be dedicated to a team that would train together, fight together, and get paid together. While my assignment didn't really specify, it was implied that I should work alone. But I did work rather well with Tivari and Lani, and together we might be able to rise further, faster. And, of course, they could help me with my plans that did not involve the Alliance. If I got their trust and they got mine, they might even be there to help me take down the Shadow Broker.

"… as you three did so much damage to Eclipse in a mission that should have been suicide, we are giving you a few concessions." I started listening again as he continued, "First off, you three will not be required to fulfill the normal one contract a month rule, or to be on call for defense or attacks that are not called for by clients, for the next four weeks while the Batarian's leg heals. Secondly, you three will each receive a one-thousand credit bonus along with your standard five-hundred credit paycheck. Third, you will be allowed to continue to use your own armor sets when on a mission, rather than the standard-issue gear most recruits wear. The only condition on this is that you have the armory officer change the color scheme to match ours."

Not bad benefits, considering that they'd unknowingly sent us on a suicide mission and we'd done a lot of damage to one of their main rivals. Not much in the scheme of things, but impressive considering that there had only been three of us. That survived, anyway.

"Now, there is just one last thing to decide. Your initial rank within the organization will largely depend on whether you three want to work as individuals, or stay on as a team. As a team, you three will be full legionaries rather than auxiliaries like standard recruits. Alone, you three will be auxiliaries, but with much lower time required to rise up. I'll leave you three alone for a minute to decide."

With that he walked out the door and left us sitting in his unguarded office. If I had known how good the Blue Suns' encryptions here were, I might have tried to hack in and mine data. As it was, I didn't want to take the risk. So I broke the silence and voiced what I'm sure the other two were thinking.

"So… should we be a team?" I paused for a second to gather my thoughts, and then went on, "We work pretty well together. Tivari on long range and suppressing fire, Lani up close as our tank, and my tech and biotics filling in the gaps."

"I would be fine with it." Tivari agreeing would mean nothing if Lani said no. In fact, I would have nowhere to stay if Lani said no. And she wouldn't have anyone to help her move around either.

"I don't know. I've never been the best at teamwork." As if we didn't know that from yesterday. Even against the LOKIs she'd charged around and messed up several of my hacks or Tivari's shots. And during the main fight, she'd done nothing to help either me or Tivari, preferring to charge straight into them after I took out the mechs and ending up with me getting hurt saving her. "Back in Special Interventions any team I was on tended to get cut to ribbons."

"I think we'll survive. After all…" I gave her a lopsided grin. "We've got a Turian who pissed an admiral off bad enough to get exiled, a registered genius who you personally saw send a Krogan running earlier, and you."

"Wait a second, how did a squishy human, no offense, send a Krogan running? That sounds either far-fetched, or like a very interesting story." Tivari's surprise was warranted. In truth, I was surprised that the Krogan had run even though I knew they truly feared having their head-plate popped off. I'd expected to have to open it and get my hand filthy by biotic-punching its brain.

"Yes, I did. But that story can be told later. Also, no offence taken. We can be rather soft at times." I turned back to Lani. I still couldn't really read her face, but I assumed that the way her onyx orbs were flitting around meant that she was currently arguing about whether or not to do it. "Besides, I'm not carrying your sorry ass home if you don't help the team."

"Blackmailing me for this, eh?" She actually laughed. "Get rid of that hideous nose, add another pair of eyes, and a lot more muscle and you wouldn't make a bad Batarian. Aside from that hideous smell that always follows you around anyway."

"I will consider that an insult, but I assume that's a yes? And that also implies that I can stay at your apartment, at least until your leg heals?"

"I suppose so." She seemed to be deciding whether or not to say more when the door opened and Pavis walked back in.

"Well, have you decided yet?"

"Yes. We'll be working as a team," I answered for the three of us.

"Excellent. Just sign on the dotted line…" He tossed a datapad to each of us. I signed, the holo-pen making no sound as I scrawled out my signature. Even after two childhoods learning it, I was still terrible with cursive. "Good. Now the last thing remaining is to get each of you your Blue Suns tattoo. Follow me." Once he had all the datapads, he walked back out without even looking back to see if we were following.

Tivari followed immediately, but it took a few seconds for me and Lani to get up and into our usual walking arrangement. She still seemed a bit angry at me, heaven knows why, but not as much as earlier. The fading ache of mass-accelerator wounds wasn't too bad, what with how most only used things the size of grains of sand and left small, rapidly closing holes behind. So I knew that the slight rasp in her breathing was the only sign of how much her leg hurt her. Nonetheless, we quickly caught up with them.

One of the rare Asari that chose the Blue Suns over Eclipse and other groups did the tattoo. She also tried to flirt with each of us, but we all just ignored it. I got the tattoo on the underside of my left upper arm, Tivari had it on the back of her left shoulder, and Lani had it on the inside of her right wrist.

The rec-room was actually quite nice, especially for a building this size in what equated to an active war zone. Apparently the Suns wanted their employees to stay around the base for contracts. They even had an actual pool-table over in one corner along with several VR sports and combat games. Before I could even start telling Tivari about the incident with the Krogan, another human walked in and made a beeline for me.

"Selos Viermanos?" She didn't look up from the datapad she was examining.

"Yes. Need something?" My reply was curt. I didn't know the lady, and so didn't know her intentions.

"First off, welcome to the Suns. Second, you're a tech specialist right?"

"Yeah. I have biotics too, but I've always been best with tech. Why?"

"My gunship took a couple of major hits on my last mission, and our last engineer pissed off a Krogan when he was drunk last night, so I need your help to fix it. You'll get ten credits an hour for doing work around the base, and fifty for every combat vehicle you repair or upgrade."

"I'm better with software and electronics, but I should be able to help." I got up and followed the woman as Lani and Tivari started up a conversation. I'd looked up how to do maintenance and such on vehicles like this, but had never had a chance to try it during my training program.

Maybe I'd finally figure out why Garrus was so interested in the Mako and calibrations.


End file.
